IFP unveils US indie slate for Berlin

The IFP/New York hasunveiled a slate of eight films split evenly between documentaries andnarrative features - that it will screen at the upcoming European Film Marketin Berlin as part of the organization's seventh annual showcase of new work.

Selected projects havetaken part in one of the IFP Market's principal sections: Emerging Narrative, Spotlight onDocumentaries, or the No Borders International Co-Production Market.

'The Market isincreasingly focused on presenting projects in development,' says Byrd.'As such, the annual presentation in Berlin allows us to present recentMarket alumni once their work has been completed.'

'The showcase allowsus to offer continued direct support to filmmakers and to present a sort of'best of' the Market to the many international buyers who did not make it toNew York for our event,' says Colin Stanfield, who runs all of IFP'sinternational programmes, including the organization's own No BordersInternational Co-production Market.

Showcase filmmakersreceive complimentary accreditation through the IFP, a Market screening, and a$400 travel stipend. The familiarIFP booth will be housed in the main exhibit hall of the Market alongsideTelefilm Canada and the British Council.

The IFP's booth willserve as a home base and message center for IFP filmmakers and member companiesworking the festival. The IFP's programme in Berlin is supported by the EastmanKodak Company, Screen International> and by a grant from TheJohn D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Girlhood (Dir: Liz Garbus) From the Documentarian responsible for The Farm: Angola, USA comes two coming-of-age stories from the realAmerica: Shanae, convicted for murder at 12, and Megan, for assault at 16,begin their journeys to adulthood within the barbed wire of a juvenile prison.A story of mothers and daughters, crime and its consequences and ceaselessstriving in the face of inconceivable adversity, Girlhood is a testament to the faith and struggles of twoyoung girls just trying to grow up. - 2002 IFP Market - Spotlight on Documentaries

Long Gone (Dirs: Jack Cahill, David Eberhardt)Hobos still ride the rails, and Long Gone rides with them, exposing a stark contrast between the romantic notionsand harsh realities of modern hobo culture in America. Featuring original musicby Tom Waits and Charlie Musselwhite. - 200l IFP Market - No Borders International Co-Production Market- 2003 Slamdance Film Festival - Documentary Competition (Winner, BestDocumentary and Kodak Vision Award for Best Cinematography)

The Same River Twice(Dir: Robb Moss) Working as river guides for much of the 1970's, the director and his friendslived an unscheduled, communal, (often naked), outdoor life. Cutting betweenimages of a month-long river trip filmed twenty-five years ago and the currentlives of five people from that trip, the film explores bodies, time's passageand living with one's life choices.- 1999 IFP Market - No Borders International Co-Production Market - 2002 IFP Market - Spotlight on Documentaries- 2003 Sundance Film Festival - Documentary Competition

Shelter Dogs(Dir: Cynthia Wade)Every day, hundreds of thousands of unwanted and stray dogs are born around theworld. What to do with these dogs is a source of ongoing debate. In one smalltown in America, at a unique animal shelter, staff members continually raceagainst time to find homes for the endless stream of dogs that wind up at theirdoorstep, all the while struggling over the question of euthanasia. Visuallystunning, always gripping, this veritZ documentary is a moving portrait ofextraordinary dedication, and offers a provocative exploration of an ongoingcontroversy.- 2001 IFP Market - Spotlight onDocumentaries

Taft(Dir: Aion Velie)For Dean Difranco, time has stopped. He's been in prison for the last 17 yearsof his life. Released, he's torn between becoming a father to a daughter he hasnever met and searching for the men that killed her mother. Everything iscomplicated by the fact that his daughter is the spitting image of the woman heloved and lost.- 2002 IFP Market - EmergingNarrative (Winner, IFP Market Completion Award)

West Bank Brooklyn(Dir: Ghazi Albuliwi)Arab American Ali Sahid and his older brother Mustafa both struggle with theirMuslim religion and American way of life while living with their strict Islamicfather, Hassam Sahid, a widower. Their neighborhood meanwhile also begins toboil as conflict in the Middle East between Palestinians and Jews escalates,creating events in Brooklyn that soon begin to eerily mirror back home.- 2002 IFP Market- Emerging Narrative- 2002 AFI Film Festival

White of Winter(Dir: Robert Saitzyk) This is a journey through both a physical and psychological landscape, a searchfor a lost child that may only exist in the mind of a young woman. Prompted byseeing a face kept deep in memory, Rachel begins a journey that will take herthrough haunting, nightmarish dreams straight into the wounds of the past.- 2002 IFP Market - Emerging Narrative- 2003 Sundance Film Festival -American Spectrum

For more informationon IFP/New York's international programmes, please contact Colin Stanfieldduring CineMart/Rotterdam Film Festival c/o The Westin or at cstan@ifp.org.

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